WOOD WARBLERS 
349 
Distribution. Misaissipi Valley north barely to Canadian boundary which it only 
crosses accidentally in the lower Great Lakes region. 
This is only included in the Canadian list on the basis of a few accidental 
occurrences in the lower Great Lakes region. It is a bird of drowned lands, 
and of bushes standing in dead water. 
Genus — Vermivora. Worm-eating Warblers 
The genus Vermivora is a group of small, slightly built warblers in 
which the following characters are most easily recognized. The bill is 
small, sharply pointed, almost spine-like, and the cuhnen line is straight or 
almost concave rather than convex or slightly arched (Figure 431). The 
tails are solidly coloured and without white spots. 
639. Worm- eating Warbler. 
Figure 4-14 
Worm -eating Warbler; 
about natural size. 
la fauvette vermivore, Helmitheros vermivorus. 
L, 5*51, Dull olive above; head buffy with 
conspicuously contrasting dark brown lines 
through the eye and bordering crown. There is 
little plumage variation. 
Distinctions. The only warbler with this 
distinctive dark and buffy head marking. The 
bill is rather heavy for a warbler of this genus. 
Field Marks. Too rare in Canada to trust to 
sight record for identification. 
Nesting. On ground; nest of rootlets, leaves, 
and bark. 
Distribution. Eastern LTnited States; only 
one record in Canada, in southern Ontario. 
A bird of wooded banks or swampy 
thickets, feeding near the ground. 
642. Golden-winged Warbler, la fauvette A ailes dories. Vermivora chrysop- 
tera. L, 5*10. A blue-grey warbler; male, white or very light grey below darkening on 
the flanks, with yellow cap and wing- 
patch and black cheeks and throat 
(Figure 435). Female similar to male 
but somewhat reduced in brightness and 
the blacks represented by dark grey. 
There is little age or seasonal plumage 
variation. 
Distinctions. The blue-grey body, 
yellow wing-patch, and black throat and 
eye patches are distinctive. 
Field Marks. The above marks are 
easily recognizable in life. The black 
throat somewhat suggests the chickadee, 
but the other marks make it easy to separate them. 
Nesting. On ground or in bushy fields or second growth. 
Distribution. Eastern United States; regularly crossing our borders only in southern 
Ontario along Lake Erie and the lower corner of Lake Huron. Occasional records for 
southern Manitoba. 
Usually found in shrubby wastes or the bushy edges of woodland. 
To be expected only in southern Ontario. 
Figure 435 
Golden- winged Warbler (male): 
natural size. 
641. Blue- winged Warbler, la fauvette A ailes bleues. Vermivora pinus. L, 
4-80. A green warbler with yellow forehead, throat, breast, and underparts; a fine 
black line through eye and blue-grey wings and tail. Two white wing-bars. Female 
similar but duller. Little plumage variation. 
76910—23 
